Longtime strategist Bayard Rustin led the logistical operations for the March, creating an Organizing Manual for local organizers that laid out the logistics, talking points, and demands. Organizers across the country went to work during the summer of 1963 to mobilize their communities and ensure safe passage to Washington. They held meetings, distributed guides for what to expect, raised funds, coordinated buses and trains, and prepared thousands of meals.
As buses pulled into Washington, D.C. and hundreds arrived via trains onto the National Mall, the gravity of the moment and movement was clear. A quarter of a million people marched — the unprecedented turnout was a testament to the power of organizing.